For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:
not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of
the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of
this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in
the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men. (1 Cor. 1:17-25)

The
preaching of the Cross is FOOLISHNESS unto them who are perishing. This is quite
a statement by the apostle Paul. Yet let’s be careful that we read his words
exactly as he meant them. Paul does not say that if you and I think the Cross is
foolish, that God is going to punish us by causing us to perish. No. Rather,
Paul says that if you and I think that the Cross is foolishness, that this is
EVIDENCE that we are, right now, already in the process of perishing.

Why?
Why -- if we think the Cross is foolish -- is this evidence that we are
perishing? Simply because if we are saved, WE GOT THAT WAY by embracing the
Cross. We came to Jesus and brought all of our sin to Him. We came as desperate
sinners who knew that our only hope for deliverance from sin, and for new life
through the resurrection, was through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Thus, Paul
says, if you think the Cross is foolishness, it is proof that you never came to
the Cross. You never saw your need. You never saw you were a sinner, whose only
hope was the Cross of your Savior. Thus, your attitude is proof that you are
still in your sins and in the process of perishing.

The
word, "foolishness," in this passage is, "moros," from which
we get our word, "moron." It means, "dull, sluggish." It
comes from a root that means, "silly." Jesus used this word in Matthew
5:22, when He warned against saying to anyone, "Thou fool." His point
was that we dare not play God by throwing anyone on the trash heap of life,
calling them, "worthless, or of no use." We should instead have more
redemptive hopes for them. Thus, to call the Cross, "foolish," and the
preaching of it, "foolishness," means to take the position that there
was really no need for Jesus to die for sin – especially for my sin. To do so,
to me, was needless and worthless. The whole thought is silly to me.

Again,
there is a fundamental reason why someone would consider the Cross as,
"foolishness," in this way. That reason is that they do not see
themselves as a sinner who needs the forgiveness of God, or deliverance from
sin. Thus, to them the Cross is needless and foolish. And because they don’t
see themselves as those who need to be delivered from this old creation, and
birthed into the new, they are still in the old. That is why Paul says they are
perishing.

Rejecting
the Cross

There
are more and more people today who outwardly mock the Cross. More and more
Christian pastors and leaders are rejecting it outright. This is the spirit of
this age – of liberal religion and political correctness. People don’t want
a Christianity which confronts them and demands repentance and confession of
sin. They want a Jesus who tells them that, "anything goes," all in
the name of love. This is, of course, all of Satan.

But
let’s not kid ourselves. People are able to reject the Cross in more subtle
ways than outright mockery. In fact, most people who view the Cross as needless
or silly or foolish don’t usually say so – not even to themselves. Indeed,
all we need to do to reject the Cross as foolish is TO NEGLECT it. Don’t even
talk about it. Side-step it. Keep it at arms length as something which carries
no personal application for YOU.

Many
people, when they hear the message of the Cross, immediately put up a,
"shield." They feel uncomfortable with the suggestion that THEY could
be as bad as God says they are, and that they need the Cross. Thus, they
side-step the Cross by any number of arguments. These folks are usually not
prostitutes, drug addicts, or those who openly sin. Rather, they are those who
go to church each Sunday, and are "respectable," as one might define
it.

The
bottom line is, if I do not embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ – for ANY reason
– I am saying it is FOOLISH. Any reason I give for not taking the Cross
seriously is equal to that. And in the end, I am going to perish.

One
subtle way people side-step the Cross is by mistaking their assent to the Bible
doctrine of the Cross as being equal to coming to the Cross as a sinner. We need
to know and believe the Bible doctrine of the Cross. But this is not equal to
believing and trusting Jesus Himself. The doctrine can point us in the right
direction. But then we must obey what the doctrine says.

Christ
drew a big distinction between knowing the Bible, and embracing the reality of
which the Bible speaks:

You
search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are
they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
(John 5:39-40)

There
is a huge difference between believing true Biblical doctrines, which is good
and necessary, and putting faith in Jesus Himself. Jesus is a Person, not a
Bible doctrine. What He did not the Cross was not intended to remain on paper.
It was intended to be the power of God to set us free from sin.

Justification
by Faith

There
is a thread of teaching about the Cross which has been around for almost 500
years, which – if left to itself -- feeds into the error that the Cross has no
personal, dynamic application. It is the teaching which states that what Jesus
did for us on the Cross was simply to make a payment to God for sin – such
that now we are freed from having to make that payment. The results of
this for us, we are told, is that God has made what amounts to, "an
accounting entry." What WE DID to merit death was debited to Christ’s
account – and He died. What CHRIST DID in dying for us, was credited to our
account. Thus, we are forgiven for sin.

Now,
there is actually Truth to this. Christ did die in our place as our substitute.
He did, "taste death for every man." And because of that, all of the
just requirements of God’s law are satisfied. Indeed, all of the requirements
of Divine justice were fully met through the death of Jesus Christ. Therefore,
God is able to pronounce upon us a brand new legal classification. He is able to
pronounce us totally FORGIVEN.

The
word the Bible uses for this new legal classification is JUSTIFICATION. The word
means, "to be made right with God." Justification is a one-time,
once-for-all thing. It is not a process. It is not something you can earn.
Neither is it something you can "lose." It is based solely upon what
Jesus has done, and we receive it, "by grace through faith." The
instant you accept the death of Christ as your own, you are justified by faith.
This is a cardinal Biblical doctrine.

More
Than Legal

But
there is a problem here. If ALL Jesus did on the Cross was to give God a just
reason to give us a new legal classification – such that God was then able to
pronounce us all "forgiven" – we should rejoice. But what does any
of that do to CHANGE US? Nothing. What does any of it do to address SIN ITSELF?
Nothing. How does it actually deliver the sinner from sin? It doesn’t.

You
see, if all Jesus did was PAY for sin – pay GOD for sin by dying for it –
then you and I might be free from the punishment for sin. But how about sin
itself?

The
brutal Truth is, if all Jesus did was bear the punishment FOR sin, then He did
nothing to address sin itself. That leaves you and I just as much IN SIN as
before – only now we have been pronounced "forgiven." This would not
create any possibility for walking in freedom FROM sin, nor would any sort of
holiness in the life of the believer be possible. Indeed, if all Jesus did was
LEGAL, then there could be NO change whatsoever in the sinner at all.

The
misunderstanding here goes back to what is wrong with man. If all that is wrong
with those born in Adam is that we are under the punishment of God, then yes, we
could say that when Jesus died, God "lifted" that punishment. But is
what is wrong with man able to be attributed to the "punishment of
God?" No. What is wrong with man is SIN.

This
changes everything. It means that Jesus died not merely bear the punishment of
God FOR SIN on the Cross – so that we could have that punishment lifted from
us. No. Rather, Jesus bore the sin of man on the Cross – so that we could be
freed from IT!

Can
we possibly see the difference here? Jesus bore SIN – not merely God’s
punishment FOR sin! If that is not true, then we have emptied the Cross of it’s
power to set us free from sin itself.

What
does the Bible say Jesus did on the Cross? Let’s look at a few passages:

Who
his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to
sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Pet
2:24)

What
did Jesus BEAR on the Cross? God’s "punishment?" No. Our SINS!

The
next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and saw, Behold the Lamb of God, which
takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

What
did Jesus TAKE AWAY? God’s punishment? No. The SIN of the world!

All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:6)

What
did God lay upon Jesus? His punishment? No. The INIQUITY of us all!

Jesus
bore SIN on the Cross. And He died. This not only satisfied all the legal
requirements for justification, but it set us free from sin itself. God does not
justify us because of Jesus, only to leave us IN sin. He justifies us but makes
that justification a completely moral thing by doing what is necessary to turn
the sinner into a saint. He makes it possible for us to walk in freedom from the
sin which He has already legally forgiven.

What
we see here is that, yes, God put all of our sin to the account of Christ, and
He put the death of Christ to our account. He is therefore just in pronouncing
us legally forgiven. But God did more. God put all of our sin upon Christ
Himself, so that by bearing our sin in His Body, we might become the righteous
of God in Him. Thus, the legal truths of the Redemption point to a dynamic
living transaction which Jesus accomplished for us.

God
does pronounce us righteous – justified – but leave us as before. No.
Through the resurrection, the very life of Christ is in us. We are not only
pronounced righteous, but we are made righteous.

Planted
Into Christ

According
to the Bible, the sinner is SET FREE FROM SIN ITSELF through the Cross of Jesus
Christ. We are set free from the power of the old nature, and given a new
nature. None of this can be accomplished by a "legal
reclassification." It can only be accomplished by a union with Christ in
His death and resurrection.

For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised
from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he
died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. Likewise
reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield you your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those
that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the
law, but under grace. (Rom 6:5-14)

If
we would simply read this passage, and others like it, there would be no doubt
as to whether the death of Christ set us free from sin or not. Notice Paul’s
words, "our old man is crucified." And, "that the body of sin
might be DESTROYED." He tells us the result: "That henceforth we
should not serve sin." Not one word here about being set free from
"punishment" or "wrath." No. We are set free from the power
of sin, so that Paul can boldly proclaim, "Reckon yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God," and "LET NOT SIN REIGN in your mortal body."

Now
here’s the question: If we are set free from the power of sin, then why do we
keep sinning? Paul addresses this is chapter 7. It is because we are not set
free from the possibility of sin, or from the presence of a fleshly body that
isn’t born again until the physical resurrection. Thus, the sin nature is NOT
obliterated. It is still there. But the Cross severs its power over us. Before
we were saved, we had to sin. Now, we don’t. The Cross severs the power of sin
over us, and the resurrection gives us the power to obey God.

The
reason we keep on sinning is that it takes time to learn how to walk in the
Spirit. It takes time to learn how to, "yield our members to God as
instruments of righteousness." But Paul tells us that to do so – and says
that the REASON we can do so is that we are freed from sin by the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Crucified
With Christ

The
key to understanding the Cross is summarized in Galatians 2:20:

I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

Can
we see that this includes the fact that Christ died FOR us – in our place –
but that we actually die IN CHRIST? We are crucified with Christ! Sure. Paul
told us in Romans 6 that we are, "planted together with Him in the likeness
of His death." That word "planted" means to "cause to grow
together," in the sense of being ENGRAFTED or made ONE with. What we are
being shown is the great Biblical Truth that Jesus Christ, rather than bear our
punishment, bore our SIN – bore everything in Himself that merited death.

The
fact is, unless this is true, you and I have NO POWER over sin. We have no
freedom from it. At best, we have a "new legal classification," but no
more. And unfortunately, that is just about all many Christians think Jesus did
for them.

Again
-- justification, in the legal sense, means that God put OUR SIN to Jesus’
account, and His righteousness to our account. But we are seeing that God did
more: God put OUR SIN in Christ’s body, and through His resurrection, His
righteousness becomes ours. The result is that we really are crucified WITH
Christ, but nevertheless do live, yet not us, but Christ in and through us.

For
he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

What
is Salvation?

Do
we realize that Christianity is, "Christ in us?" That rather than
merely have a new "legal classification," we are actually new
creations in Christ Jesus?

Salvation
is, after all, LIFE. Salvation is not merely, "getting forgiven." It
is not merely having God’s punishment or wrath taken off of you. Salvation is
eternal life – which is the result of being raised a new creation in Christ
Jesus.

Lots
of Christian think that salvation means you are going to heaven. Well, that’s
included. But the reason you go to heaven is because you have Christ in you. You
can’t get into heaven any other way.

But
again – salvation, or new life – is not possible unless the old life is
crucified in Christ. You cannot be born again while still IN ADAM. No. You must
bring, "your Adam" to the Cross and embrace Jesus’ death. That’s
how you, "get out of Adam." You are delivered from that old sin nature
through the Cross. And then through the resurrection, you are born again IN
CHRIST – a new creation.

God
told Adam, "In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die." Nothing
is going to change this sentence of Divine justice upon all of us because of
Adam. But God has made a way in which this sentence can be carried out through
His Son, and a way we can be delivered. I can see, "my Adam" die in
Christ, and I can then be birthed anew, not back into Adam, but in Christ.

This
is why Paul always uses the term, "in Christ" to describe those who
are saints. We really are IN HIM – one with Him. We are that, every bit as
much as He is IN US.

Foolishness?

Once
we see that the Cross is the key to not only salvation, but to all freedom from
sin and death, we see why Paul is able to say that those who belittle it do so
only because they are perishing. If you have eternal life in you, it is only
because you first CAME to the Cross. And if you came to the Cross, it certainly
wasn’t because you thought it was needless. You came because you saw it was
your only hope for deliverance out of the old creation. It is therefore
impossible that anyone who is saved could ever think of the Cross as foolish or
irrelevant.

Paul
said:

But
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
(Gal 6:14-15)

And
I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of
wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know
any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1 Cor.2:1-2)